Penn State Lehigh Valley faculty delegates visit partner institutions in India

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — A delegation of three Penn State Lehigh Valley faculty members visited two partner higher education institutions in India over winter break. Building upon a foundation that started with the signing of a memo of understanding (MOU) between Penn State Lehigh Valley and the two colleges last summer, the two-week visit was the next step in putting the partnership into practice.

The partnership was initiated by Vasu Singh, a family medicine physician originally from Himachal Pradesh, India, now based in Bethlehem. Maung Min, Penn State Lehigh Valley director of business programs and associate teaching professor, business, said over the years, Singh has been trying very hard to help with the educational development of the state. She found an enthusiastic partner in Tina Richardson, Penn State Lehigh Valley chancellor.

“They had some good discussions and went on a trip to Himachal Pradesh last spring," Min said. "They were welcomed with open arms — the schools really rolled out the red carpet. Dr. Richardson signed two MOUs, and part of that included an educational exchange,” Min said.

Min, Subhadra Ganguli, assistant professor of business, and Mark Capofari, lecturer, project and supply chain management at Penn State Lehigh Valley conducted workshops for faculty and students at Rajkiya Kanya MahaVidyalaya (RKMV) and Gautam Group of Colleges (GGC) centered around project-based learning — or learning by understanding concepts and coming up with a workable solution, not simply learning for its own sake.

But first, the faculty at the two universities had to understand the concept of project-based learning.

“The whole purpose was to have a 'Train the Trainer' workshop on various active learning teaching styles, how to engage students with making them understand how to deliver project-based learning in their classrooms, and how to assess students,” Ganguli said. “The goal was to make the faculty more aware of how we teach and how we make the students more actively engaged in our classrooms. In a nutshell, we not only covered how we teach, but we taught the faculty how we teach.”  

Faculty at RKMV and GGC participated in a daylong Train the Trainer session so they could lead the modules and coach the student teams at their respective institutions.

“They internalized what we taught and applied it as mentors to their student teams for the rest of the week,” Min said.

Thirty students — six teams of five students apiece — solved problems through small projects, all with an eye on sustainable business practices. Project-based learning was a new concept for the students at RKMV and GGC. Ganguli said one of the most rewarding parts of the experience for her was exposing students to the endless possibilities learning provides, rather than simply studying to do well on an exam.

“This taught them how to be more critical and analytical, not just be a recipient of training or learning,” Ganguli said. “Students were made to think about project-based learning and how to make sustainable decisions. It got them thinking about how learning is delivered — it’s not just for exams. It just made them become involved in the whole process of learning through discussion, writing, brainstorming, playing games.”

Another component of project-based learning is relying on real-life examples to support the course material. Capofari incorporated examples from his own experiences in the business world into his classroom lectures whenever he can. He used the same approach with the Indian students.

“I’ve found assigning industry news in my lessons and building out instances that I dealt with in case study exercises is a valuable segue to create awareness and foster discussion. From there working with students to consider proactive measures to build supply chain resiliency and minimize interruptions becomes more practical,” he said.

It wasn’t all learning, however. The faculty members did some sightseeing during their two-week stay. Highlights included a day visiting the Taj Mahal and a weekend visit to the city of Shimla, the former British summer capital. The group also had a meeting at the Indian School of Business, coordinated by Singh.

“I was very impressed with that facility — their focus is on executive education. They are very interested in partnering with us,” Min said. 

Singh and senior leadership at the universities also arranged an appointment with the Dalai Lama for the Penn State Lehigh Valley faculty.

“It was so very gracious of those who set that up,” Capofari said. “That’s a day you write down in your diary.”

With the first phase of the Penn State Lehigh Valley/India partnership complete, leadership at both universities said they are looking ahead to future opportunities.

“From a faculty growth perspective, we were able to start some research work there, as well — research on sustainability and understanding from the Indian students’ perspective. We started that work. From a service perspective, we’re providing service for the growth of the Indian students,” Min said.

The team is also looking into collaborative projects for the students in India and those at Penn State Lehigh Valley through the Penn State Experiential Digital Global Engagement (EDGE) Program, with classes conducted over Zoom.

“This is something we can do that doesn’t require travel. If we decide to have an EDGE project in one of our courses that’s quite doable,” Min said.

Anibal Torres Bernal, Penn State Lehigh Valley director of academic affairs, said the trip to India confirms the campus’ commitment to global engagement and innovation.

“By training educators in project-based learning and directly engaging with students, our faculty expanded our international reach and laid the groundwork for future collaborations that enrich our community and elevate our land-grant mission,” he said.

The Penn State Lehigh Valley said the future is bright with possibilities for their collaboration and their Indian colleagues.

“I thought generally we did well,” Capofari said. “Having Subhadra as part of the team was very beneficial in terms of both the culture and developing the scholastic content. It was very rewarding for all of us, and I believe for the faculty and students, as well.”